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July 11, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Six Central West Virginia Residents
Enter Guilty Pleas to Drug & Firearm Charges

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — Six Central West Virginia residents entered guilty pleas on July 6 and 8, 2011, in United States District Court in Clarksburg before Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that:

BRANDON BAXTER, age 23, of Clarksburg, entered a plea of guilty to one count of an Indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute heroin from April 2010 to April 2011 in the Northern District of West Virginia. BAXTER, who is in custody, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000. The case was investigated by the Harrison County Drug & Violent Crime Task Force and the Three Rivers Drug Task Force. The Harrison County Drug & Violent Crime Task Force consists of officers from the Clarksburg Police Department, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, and the Bridgeport Police Department. The Three Rivers Drug Task Force consists of officers from the Fairmont Police Department and the and Monongah Police Department.

MATTHEW BOONE, age 26, of Harrison County, West Virginia, entered a plea of guilty to one count of an Indictment charging him with the distribution of heroin on October 7, 2010, in Clarksburg. BOONE, who is currently free on bond pending sentencing, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000.

JEREMY LYNN FREEMAN, age 29, entered a plea of guilty to one count of an Indictment charging him with possessing three firearms while he was an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance on December 2, 2010. FREEMAN, who is in custody, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

JONATHAN PEET, age 26, of Clarksburg, entered a plea of guilty to one count of an Indictment charging him with the distribution of heroin on October 7, 2010, in Clarksburg. PEET, who is currently free on bond pending sentencing, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000.

NIKKI PIERCE, age 18, and TAUSHA PIERCE, age 24, both of Clarksburg, each entered guilty pleas to two counts of an Indictment charging them with the distribution of heroin within 1,000 feet of West Virginia Junior College in Bridgeport on November 1, 2010; and aiding and abetting the possession, sale, and disposal of a stolen firearm on November 8, 2010, in Bridgeport. Both defendants are in custody and face a maximum penalty of 40 years imprisonment and a fine of $2,000,000 on the drug charge; and a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 on the firearm charge.

The cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Harrison County Drug & Violent Crime Task Force.

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn Angus Morgan.